MANSEHRA: The downpour-induced flash floods on Friday damaged houses, roads, standing crops, riverside power units and water schemes in Razika valley of Upper Kohistan district.

A local stream burst its banks causing massive devastation in Razika valley besides cutting off the area from the rest of the district.

Deputy commissioner of Upper Kohistan Irfanullah Mehsud told reporters that the district administration had moved machinery to the calamity-hit areas to reopen the road blocked by landslides.

A resident said the floodwater damaged cemeteries.

He said the locals were clearing choked passageways for the release of floodwaters.

The people said the main artery, which linked the entire valley with the Karakoram Highway, was also washed away at some points during the flash flooding.

Stream bursts banks in Razika village

They said the families living near the stream moved to safer places.

DC Mehsud said the district administration had dispatched teams of the revenue department to the disaster-hit areas to assess the damage.

He said details of the assessment would be shared with the media.

The DC said the administration was in contact with flood victims for their safety.

He said authorities in Suo tehsil were taking precautionary measures against possible damage by more rains.

Meanwhile, upper parts of the Hazara division recorded a heavy rainfall on Friday.

It started raining early in the morning and lasted all through the day intermittently.

The rainfall was reported in Mansehra, Torghar, Upper and Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts.

The residents and travellers complained that they suffered as the link roads in Siren, Konsh and Kaghan valleys were blocked by the downpour-induced landslides.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023